Parents call for safety fixes at A Avenue and Fifth after boy struck by car

A Lake Oswego father described a bicycle crash that seriously alarmed his family and urged the City Council to take another look at safety at the intersection of A Avenue and Fifth Avenue.

During the public comment period, Josh Shaster and his son Carter, a Forest Hills Elementary student, told the council that on April 26 Carter was struck by a car while riding his bike near the stretch between the 7‑11 and Safeway on A Avenue. “On April 26, I got a call as a parent that I never want to get that my son had got hit by a car, riding his bike,” Josh Shaster said. He told the council his son was taken to the scene and that video showed Carter going under the front of a car. “Fortunately, he's okay,” Shaster said.

Shaster described the intersection as a longtime neighborhood concern and said prior upgrades had improved but not solved the safety risk. “I recognize and appreciate the upgrades that were made… but I've told my kids, you're not crossing there,” he said, and asked the council to consider additional measures to prevent future injuries.

Mayor Buck and other council members thanked the family for coming forward and for Carter’s safe recovery. Councilors did not commit to a specific action on the spot but acknowledged the intersection’s longstanding safety reputation and encouraged staff to review the incident and the intersection’s design options.

Shaster said he was not seeking to blame the driver or the city but wanted the event to prompt a civic conversation about traffic and intersection safety and to prevent similar incidents in the future.